05 July 2022
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111 Buckingham Palace Road in London
A major refurbishment of London's 111 Buckingham Palace Road includes a new air conditioning system with high-efficiency Carrier screw chillers.
Tenants occupying the landmark building, near Buckingham Palace and Victoria Station, now benefit from indoor comfort provided by two Carrier AquaForce 30XBE air-cooled chillers, installed by Leonari Ltd for Savills’ consultancy division.
Delivering a combined total of 2.4MW of cooling, the chillers are equipped with variable speed fan motors to minimise noise levels and maximise energy savings, delivering a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) for cooling of up to 4.6.
Due to the sensitive location in the heart of London, the project was logistically challenging, and involved tight space limitations due to the restricted rooftop location for the chillers.
"It required a very compact solution with specific dimensions and upper weight limit," said Stathis Londos, founder and managing director of contractor Leonari Ltd. "The client also required excellent energy efficiency to align with their high environmental performance standards. We looked at several options, and the Carrier solution was the one that fully met the requirements. We are also familiar with Carrier engineering – it is a proven design and known for its reliability."
The chillers are connected to the building management system, providing high-level control and monitoring and enabling optimisation of performance. In the unlikely event of a fault, the chiller compressor does not switch off, but continues to operate with reduced capacity (unloaded mode), ensuring continuity of cooling to the building while remedial action is taken.
Lifting the chillier into place at 111 Buckingham Palace Road
"The Carrier team provided excellent support throughout the project," said Stathis Londos. "Due to the site sensitivities, it required careful planning over an extended period, with no room for error. Carrier was embedded in the planning process during the year-long preparations, effectively becoming part of our team."
The chiller lift, requiring a 450-tonne crane, took place over a weekend, with London's busy Buckingham Palace Road closed for less than a day. The building remained fully occupied during the project, requiring particular attention to the needs of occupants.
As the building’s HVAC services had been developed over time to meet changing needs, phase two of the project involved reconciling existing systems with the new Carrier chillers, to deliver a unified, modern system that fully meets current needs.
Evangelos Rodis, head of design & projects and director at Savills Engineering & Design Consultancy, said: "The successful outcome is testimony to the close collaboration between all parties throughout the project. From the initial consultation with stakeholders and building occupiers, to the design, installation and commissioning, the project was delivered to the highest standards. It is imperative for such work to be completed with minimum impact on the operation of the building, and this was managed extremely well through careful planning and teamwork. It is great to see the new system in operation providing high quality indoor comfort and environmental standards for those who occupy the building."
